10 Awesome Wrestling Matches You May Have Missed In 2018

3. Buddy Murphy Vs. Mustafa Ali (WWE 205 Live - 3 July)

Buddy Murphy Mustafa Ali
WWE.com

Rivals Buddy Murphy and Mustafa Ali contested an awesome match at WWE Survivor Series, but while the year's last 'Big Four' pay-per-view allowed the talented duo to bring their underrated 2018 feud to a global stage, it didn't yield their best bout together.

That manifested on the 3 July episode of 205 Live, where the full range of their in-ring creativity came to life under a No DQ stipulation.

This was their third bout together. Like all great sequels, Ali and Murphy called back to their previous encounters throughout. They told their story as if it were unfolding in a pay-per-view main event, not on 205, working the announce table and a set of ring steps into proceedings as their deep, personal hatred boiled over. That bad blood was present in everything they did, and it's to the duo's credit that they were even able to shake the usually dead 205 crowd out of their slumber towards the end.

High spots were legion, but never gratuitous. This was about settling beef, not abandoning psychology for an over-choreographed stunt show, and the result was one of WWE's most satisfying 2018 grudge matches.

Watch: WWE Network (paywall)

Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.